Pavlov Dog Training - Portland

Ashley was absolutely amazing!! I dropped off my dogs (7 year old Golden Retriever and 5 year old Black Lab) for a 3 week board and train after moving to the Portland area. Their leash manners were absolutely terrible, pulling and not listening when on leash. I when I went to pick them up, I was shocked! They were so well behaved, listened to commands with ease, and still had their goofy personalities! Ashley took such great care of them and they fell in love with her! Every lesson after, they were so excited to see her and work with her again. She’s incredibly knowledgeable and taught me exactly how to handle the new commands, keep up with their training, and made sure I know she’s always there to help when needed. I cannot recommend Pavlov training and Ashley enough!

My husband and I enrolled our 2 year old golden retriever, Beatrix, in the 2 week board-and-train program focused on leash and house manners, and ultimately made the decision to end her stay on the second day. While the program may end in good results, we questioned the quality of care and transparency of communication. We are sharing details of this experience so other pet owners can understand why we would not recommend this service. Drop off: At drop-off, we provided all of Bea’s food, supplies, and her Fi collar charger (Fi collar tracks all her activity and location). At this time I expressed I was concerned if there would be extensive crating, but I was reassured she would be engaged in consistent training and activity, that she would be tired, and that we would be notified if she was not adjusting well. Day 1: I received a notification of Bea’s activity through the Fi collar app, that her activity was extremely low. Her FI collar showed about 1,000 steps total for the rest of the day (her norm is 28,000 steps) with approximately 40 minutes of active time. Day 2: The next day her activity was again limited. Based on the hourly tracking data, it appeared she was not let out for breakfast or a potty break until around 10am — several hours later than her normal 7am routine. This was later confirmed when we followed up about our experience. When I reached out around 2:30pm to check in and ask for more details around the schedule and why her activity was so limited, I was told her collar had been removed. However, the Fi collar had shown consistent movement prior to that message and then sent a “device-off” around the time that I texted to inquire about her activity. After confirming with Fi customer support that the device was functioning properly and had not be removed until around 2:30pm, we felt we could no longer trust the situation. Pick up: We picked Bea up around 7pm. She was visibly distressed and not herself when we brought her home, and in the days following she exhibited separation anxiety behaviors that were new for her. At the time of pickup Ashley was unprofessional and rude, not offering additional explanation of why her movement was so little and not asking for any feedback. Crate time and location: we were informed dogs are crated in room next to each other. They may or may not play with these dogs (we were told that our dog did not play with the other 2 dogs she was crated with, she only played with the trainers 2 dogs). We purposely chose an in-home board and train because we wanted proper socialization, exercise and affection - a similar routine that she gets at home. We later found out that our normal schedule was ignored and we were told that the dog adjusts to the schedule of the trainer. Billing: Regarding billing, we were told at pickup that we would receive the second $700 payment back but would forfeit the non-refundable $700 deposit. The refund was not issued until we followed up to ask about it. We were not asked for feedback about our experience until we reached back out regarding the refund, once we did clearly explain what a terrible experience we had the owner contacted us and apologized for not reaching out sooner as well as her looking into the truth of the matter with Ashley. Long story short, we were told the situation was essentially our word against hers and she will side with the trainer she’s been using for over a year when it comes to who she believes. We encourage other owners to ask detailed questions about daily activity levels, time spent crated, morning routines, and communication practices before enrolling. For our active dog that requires consistent exercise, enrichment, and as dog parents that desire clear communication, this format was not ok for us.

We sent our dog Sunny to the Board & Train program with Ashley. I’m amazed at the skills she learned in just two weeks. She went from having zero leash skills to being calm and focused on walks. No pulling or reactions to other dogs/people/squirrels! The investment was so worth it and has allowed us to expand her world!

We had a great experience working with trainer Ashley! My little Boston is a delight to take on walks now, and she returned from boarding eager to learn more. It’s as if Ashley taught her to love learning. I’m very happy I went this route. It’s been well worth it!

Ashley was wonderful! We feel like we have a shared language now with our new little cattle dog Vix, and her walking manners are very much improved. We are still working with Vix on her excitement around other dogs and squirrels but we are now better able to communicate our expectations with her. Vix still expresses her wonderful goofy personality, but now is more confident in herself and in us. In three weeks Ashley accomplished what would have taken us at least a year or two to achieve in terms of trust, communication, and confidence. I will put all future dogs of mine through this awesome program!